While most winners from Los Angeles County’s midterm elections have already been projected, the race for District Nine’s City Council seat is still too close to call.
Jose Ugarte and Estuardo Mazariegos were neck and neck in the latest vote count, released Tuesday night. Councilmember Curren Price’s seat on the City Council remains up for grabs.
Ugarte currently leads the race with 50.2%, ahead of Mazariegos by just 156 votes.
District Nine includes Historic South Central, parts of downtown and Exposition Park, home to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, BMO Stadium and Crypto.com Arena.
Either candidate would become District Nine’s first Latino representative since 1962, when Edward R. Roybal became the first Latino elected to the City Council in the 20th century. Since then, all District Nine representatives have been Black.
Price is leaving office due to term limits, having served on the City Council since 2013. He previously served in the California State Senate and California State Assembly.
The District Nine councilmember has faced scrutiny in recent years after being accused of corruption. In 2023, he was charged with five counts of embezzlement of government funds, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest.
Price was ordered to stand trial in August, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 11. He has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty.
Ugarte was endorsed by Price and is running on promises to protect undocumented Angelenos across South Central from federal immigration raids. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party have also endorsed Ugarte.
Mazariegos has received support from the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. He is campaigning on promises to make housing more affordable, invest in basic services and hold city government more accountable.
Ugarte’s campaigners were accused by Mazariegos’ campaign this week of allegedly filling out voters’ ballots illegally during what they called “an Ugarte canvassing operation.”
“Taking people’s ballots, filling them out, and not following legal voter assistance guidelines in a district that has faced so much disenfranchisement is disgusting,” Mazariegos said in a statement.
The accusation was reportedly referred to the district attorney’s office for review, which said it was looking into the matter. Ugarte’s team has denied the claims.
Tuesday was the deadline for mail-in ballots to be counted. Due to Veterans Day, an updated count will not be released until Friday, said Mike Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. He also said he could not estimate how many votes remained to be counted.
The post District Nine City Council Race Remains Too Close To Call, Ugarte Leads by 156 Votes appeared first on LAmag.
